Around March of this year I started feeling tingling in my left hand. As time went on the tingling went to a constant numbness to three fingers. At first I figured I just hit it on something and the pain/numbness would go away. Finally I had enough and went to my doctor. After talking with me and doing a few simple tests he thought it might be Carpool Tunnel.

I approached work and told them of the preliminary diagnosis. They seemed to take it very seriously and set me to a specialist on the company’s dime. After a number of tests they agreed with the initial diagnosis. They started me on treatments which after a month in a half didn’t help so surgery was brought up. Before surgery, the specialists wanted to be sure it was necessary so I was scheduled for a nerve conduction test, which wasn’t the most pleasant experience. Immediately after the test the doctor was able to determine that surgery was the only option.

Now, I’m not a big fan of being cut open (who is?) but I wanted relief. I met with the surgeon and scheduled a time. Around the same time the specialists came to our Operations Center where I work to evaluate the work space. From the conversation it was easy for them to determine that our Operations Center was most likely the cause.

From that point the company stated that they would reconfigure the area with new furniture etc. They stated that the new furniture would be in by the time I got back from surgery.

The week before surgery I had a scheduled vacation. In that time my hand started feeling better. Not 100%, but better. Good enough that I thought I could hold off on the surgery. I canceled the surgery and informed work. After talking to the specialists about the change they attributed it to the fact that I wasn’t working which again demonstrated that it was work related. The company continued to pursue the furniture project but to this point, many months later, nothing new is in place. Out CIO is notorious for being cheap. After talking to the Health and Safety guy here I got the impression that this proposal was getting bogged down in office politics and the fact that the CIO didn’t want to sign off on the final form.

So, nothing has been accomplished and I’m starting to feel more and more pain in the hand again now that projects are picking up. What I’m looking for here is some advice. What should I do? Is a lawsuit justifiable? I’m not one to usually stir the pot but this is affecting life both in and out of work. I am getting increasingly angry with the fact that they have yet to do what was necessary to alleviate this situation.

I had tendinitis in both wrists as a college undergrad. Not a pleasant experience, to say the least, particularly when one computer lab in which I had to work had the keyboards security-chained to the desks, limiting the ability to get a comfortable work environment. The therapist gave me all kinds of exercises and stretches to do, custom-made braces to wear, ice and anti-inflamatory drugs, etc., but I didn't really heal until I took matters into my own hands, as it were.

1) I bought a Kinesis ergonomic keyboard. I was actually their first credit-card paying customer. I can talk at length about why I feel the Kinesis is superior to many of the Microsoft-style "natural" keyboards, but that's a topic for another day. At the time, it cost $700 (now $200-$300 depending on model). I was doing research for one of the CS professors, so I talked him into splitting the cost 50/50 with me. Since I was using a Sun workstation, which didn't take a PC keyboard, I also found an old 286 machine, on which I ran custom software to output the keyboard codes on a serial port, and then had custom software on the Sun to read the serial port and talk to the X server. (These days, all the world can deal with either PS/2 or USB, and adapters are cheap.) I generally typed with the keyboard in my lap to have it nice and low.

2) Once I started grad school, I had my own desk that was height adjustable. I had the keyboard height as low as was possible to get my legs underneath. I removed the arm rests from my chair. I also used the handicap-accessible bathroom's sinks (with high water faucets) to simulate hot/cold contrast water baths by flipping the controls from cold to hot and back. I was able to get most of my forearm under the water, all at the same time.

3) I realized that heat mattered a lot when I was typing. Going from long to short sleeves significantly increased my discomfort. I eventually solved the problem by talking a friend, who had offered to trade hand-made socks for a home-cooked dinner, into knitting "wrist tubes" for me (essentially socks without feet). I still wear these today when I type and when I drive. She and I learned later that knitting people, who also commonly suffer from repetitive strain injuries, commonly knit these sorts of things for themselves, calling them wristlets. (Unlike that link, my own wristlets don't go around the thumb, they're just four-inch tubes on my forearms.)

4) As I've had summer internships or other times that I've worked outside of the office, I've left a trail of $30 Kensington keyboard trays behind me. They're easy to (permanently) install in just about any desk. I prefer the models without any sort of wrist rest, since the Kinesis effectively has one built-in. The Kensington tray is wide enough to fit the mouse inside, so you don't have to reach too far for it.

Clearly, you understand that you need to improve your work environment. My recommendation is to do it on the cheap, on your own dime. A couple hundred dollars for a good keyboard and tray is noise in the grand scheme of things. Even if you have to buy yourself a good office chair, you can always take it home with you once they get off their duffs and buy good ones themselves. All of this is far cheaper than hiring a lawyer. Furthermore, if all of your co-workers see how you've modified your environement and like it, they may start doing likewise on their own or separately demand accomodations from the company.

Obviously, I'm not qualified to recommend whether you go ahead with the surgery or not. However, if you don't address your work environement, it's likely that you won't ever get back to normal, surgery or not.

OSHA

Mention that and the ball will most likely get rolling quickly, too. Plus, visit that site and you can file a complaint. They also have info on laws and regulations regarding workplace safety and ergonomics. Plus, you can visit your local OSHA office for info.

I've had similar problems, and can endorse that the ergonomic modifications really do make a difference. You shouldn't need an attorney; the Office of Civil Rights is quicker and even more effective than OSHA, as ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) mandates modifcations like that, and you certainly appear to have plenty of documentation. If your company has any familiarity with ADA, it should get them moving; those folks can get pushy...

Meanwhile, for yourself, try a bean-bag lap desk (SheWorks sells one; there are others) for your keyboard--it's a really quick and cheap solution ($35?)

Dan,

I agree with you about workspace but in this case I work in a room not at a desk. I just counted, I have 40 monitors around me and many of those have multiple servers or AS/400's associated with them. I don't have my own space. Others also work in the room so this is something that we all use, and we come in all shapes and sizes. This is something the company needs to address. I believe the quote was around $22,000 total refurb.

I wish I could just think about myself.

Some things, like the wristlets (or long sleeve shirts), stretches, icing, taking scheduled rest breaks, and so forth, you can start doing right away. If you've got too many work areas to make any kind of equipment adaptation on the cheap work for you, then you've clearly got a problem. OSHA may be an appropriate answer.

A quick warning on ice: once you cool down your wrists (to reduce swelling), you need to let them warm back up again before using them (~15 minutes). Otherwise, you'll hurt yourself even worse. You may find temperature contrast baths (alternating hot/cold water) to have a similar effect to ice, but you can finish up with the warm water, shortening the time for your wrists to come back to normal temperature.

Yes, I have tried the braces etc. I was working with a specialist for a couple of months back when it was worse. I did the brace thing, medications, all that fun stuff.